Music was everywhere in ancient Rome. Wherever one went in the sprawling city, the sound of singing and piping, drumming and strumming was never far out of earshot. This book examines the role of music in Roman politics and society, focusing on the period from the Roman conquest of Greece in the second century BCE to the end of the reign of Nero in 68 CE. Drawing on a wide range of literary texts, inscriptions and material artefacts, Harry Morgan uncovers the tensions between elite and popular attitudes towards music and shows how music was exploited as a tool by political leaders and emperors. Far from being a marginal aspect of daily life, music was fundamental to Roman political culture and social relations, shaping debates about class, gender and ethnicity. The book will be of interest to students and scholars of ancient music and Roman history.
Harry Morgan is a Lecturer in Ancient History at Harvard University.
Introduction; 1. The games of L. Anicius Gallus and the cultural politics of music in the second century BCE; 2. Popular music and popular politics in the late republic; 3. Augustus, Apollo's lyre and the harmony of the principate; 4. Nero and the age of musomania.
'The author, always mindful of context and nuance, questions with relevance a number of themes related to power, backed by solid documentation. It is a very useful and pleasant book to read which gives a lively and dynamic picture of music in Rome.' Christophe Vendries, Greek and Roman Musical Studies
